Dear Ashlesha,
My comments are as below:
Understanding Stress: Output and Input
- Stress is both an output and an input. It is a result, not a cause. Therefore, focus your training efforts on addressing the cause rather than the result. Conducting training on stress management without addressing the root cause will necessitate repeated training sessions.
Organizational vs. Personal Factors
- Stress arises from both organizational and personal factors. Address organizational factors first, and personal factors will likely follow. Key organizational factors include:
- Improper manpower planning
- Inadequate recruitment (a square peg in a round hole?)
- Lack of requisite skills among staff members
- Management sets goals but provides incorrect or no direction.
- Management has its own clique, listening to only a select few.
- Excessive emphasis on customer satisfaction, forcing techies to take calls even after midnight, disrupting their sleep.
- Lack of well-defined systems and processes. Without clear systems, staff from diverse backgrounds bring their previous experiences, creating a hodgepodge.
- Rigid adherence to processes, causing staff to miss the bigger picture.
- Recurrence of mistakes due to attrition.
- Management blindly benchmarks against industry leaders without integrating their culture.
- Management treats high-performers differently, causing friction among employees.
Yoga and Stress Management
- Yoga is often suggested as a method for stress management. However, corporate life issues cannot be solved spiritually. If the water in the pot is boiling, we must turn off the heat, not just add ice cubes. Yoga or other remedies are temporary solutions, akin to adding ice cubes to a boiling pot.
Training Material and Effectiveness
- There is abundant material available on stress management. Many trainers, including myself, use it. However, I have yet to meet a trainer who confidently claims to have permanently resolved employee stress. Training efforts often feel like water off a duck's back.
Role of In-House HR Professionals as Trainers
- Regarding your role as a trainer, my experience suggests that in-house HR professionals often do not succeed as trainers. If your goal is to gain training experience, proceed. However, it may be in your company's best interest to hire external trainers.
These are my candid views. My honesty may ruffle some feathers among my fellow HR professionals/trainers, but that is not my intention.
Thanks,
Dinesh V Divekar